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Production Information
Rehearsals begin: Sep 7th 2010. Rehearsals are generally
scheduled Monday – Thursday evenings from 7pm – 10pm with
some dance rehearsals scheduled on Saturdays.
This schedule
will change due to cast
conflicts. Please bring your conflict calendar with you
to the auditions. Conflicts communicated
prior to casting will not necessarily eliminate you from
being cast, however conflicts
communicated after casting will be frowned upon and will
most likely require you to be recast.
Best rule of thumb - be honest about your conflicts!
Performance Dates: Thurs – Sundays Nov. 5th – Dec 18th
Character Descriptions / Vocal Ranges
Total Cast of 9
4 Women and 5 Men
The Spellers:
Chip Tolentino (Male
C3 - B4 Tenor): Champion of the 24th annual Spelling
Bee, he returns to defend his title, but he finds puberty
hitting at the most inopportune moments. Also the first
to be
eliminated.
William Barfée (Lead
Male plays 8 – 14; Eb3 - Bb4 Tenor): A Finalist last
year, but eliminated because of health reasons (someone
put peanuts in the brownies). His famous “Magic Foot”
method of spelling had boosted him to spelling glory,
even though he only has one working
nostril, a touchy personality, a severe peanut allergy,
and the mistaken belief that he looks good
in shorts (not to mention an easily-mispronounced last
name. It’s Bar-Fay).
Olive Ostrovsky (Lead
Female plays 8 – 14; B3 - F#5 Soprano): The pretty young
newcomer
to the spelling world. Her mother is in an ashram in
India and her father is working late, as
usual, but he’s trying to make it. She made friends with
her dictionary at a very young age, and
here she is.
Logainne
Schwartzandgrubenierre (Lead Female plays
8 – 12; C4 - D5 Soprano): Logainne
is the youngest and most politically aware speller, with
two stage dads who would make
Mamma Rose blush. Perhaps the most rabid competitor of
the bunch.
Leaf Coneybear (Lead
Male plays 8 – 14; A2 - G4 Baritenor): The Second runner-up
in his
district (the winner and first runner-up had to go to
a Bat Mitzvah), Leaf comes from a large
family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He’s
not really that smart, but his heart is in
the right place and he has a unique talent for pulling
obscure words out of the air. All of the
children in his family are named after plants, and all
of his words are South-American Rodents.
Marcy Park (Lead
Female plays 8 – 14; B3 - E5 Soprano/Mezzo-soprano):
A recent transfer
from Virginia, Marcy placed 9th in last year’s nationals.
She speaks six Languages, is a member
of all-American Hockey, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple
instruments, sleeps three hours a
night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting
very tired of always winning.
Four spellers from the audience (audience participation)
The Adults:
Rona Lisa Peretti (Lead Female plays
30 – 50; C#4 - Ab5 Soprano): The #1 realtor in Putnam County,
a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champ (at the 3rd
annual Bee) and returning moderator. Sweet but stern.
Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Supporting
Male plays 30 – 50; Tenor): After five years'
absence from the Bee, Veep Panche is back as word pronouncer
and judge. The “incident” of the 20th annual Bee is almost
totally forgotten, and he’s in a much better place now,
thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis.
Mitch Mahoney (Supporting Male plays
20 – 50; E3 - A4 B4Tenor): The Official Comfort Counselor.
Mitch is serving his community service with the Bee,
and he might find he has a knack for hugs and handing
out juice boxes.
The Parents and Others:
Carl Schwartz: One of Schwartzy’s dads, he’s set on his
heart on his little girl winning the bee, no matter what
he has to do. Tries to sabotage William’s foot. Played
by Leaf.
Dan Grubenierre: One of Schwartzy’s
dads, he’s slightly less insane than Carl (but still
intent on getting his baby the gold). Played by Mitch.
Leaf’s Mom: Overprotective and doubtful
of her son’s abilities to stand up to the competition. Played
by Logainne.
Leaf’s siblings, Marigold, Brooke,
Pinecone, Landscape, Raisin, and Paul: Not very confident
of Leaf’s abilities. Played by Olive, Marcy, Chip and
the volunteer spellers.
Olive’s Mom and Dad: She’s in India,
he’s working late, but they appear in Olive’s imagination to
encourage her and tell her they love her. Played by Miss
Peretti and Mitch.
Jesus: Appears to Marcy in a moment of crisis. Played by
Chip.
Important Information About Casting: All
of the "kids" are
played by adult actors. Finn's
music is challenging and requires trained musical theatre
singers. We will be looking for actors
who, with their acting, can represent youthful personas.
Some roles are intentionally doubled
(as written by the playwright). Those were the processes
used in the original Broadway
production and will be used in this production.
For additional information, please
contact the director at
JohnJMaio@gmail.com or
(510) 755-1421
Synopsis
Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed
to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that
losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.
The 25th Annual Putnam County
Spelling Bee is a hilarious musical tale of overachievers'
angst, chronicling the experience of six adolescent misfits
fiercely vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime.
The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created
the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of
heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of misfits for whom
a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out
and fit in at the same time. Their passion is words, and
they find empowerment and identity through the bee.
The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy
with music by William Finn centering around a fictional
spelling bee in a geographically ambiguous "Putnam County". It was workshopped and
developed at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires prior to its off-Broadway
run at the Second Stage Theater before transferring to Broadway's Circle in the
Square Theatre. It was directed by James Lapine.
One unusual aspect of the show is that real audience members
are invited to compete in the spelling bee alongside the
performers. Each performance, four audience members compete
against six actors. During the 2005 Tony Awards, former
Presidential candidate Al Sharpton had a cameo as one of
the competitors.
The musical was based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E,
an original play by The Farm, a New York based improvisational
comedy troupe. Sarah Saltzberg, Wendy Wasserstein's nanny,
was in the original production, and Wasserstein recommended
that Finn see the show.
Awards
Earned six Tony Award nominations, and won two:
Best Original Score (William
Finn)
Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin) WINNER
Best Direction of a Musical (James
Lapine)
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan
Fogler) WINNER
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Celia
Keenan-Bolger)
Best Musical
Generalities
Auditions for our productions are usually scheduled in opening week of the previous production. We schedule two audition days for every show to make it easier for people who may be performing in other productions. No appointment is necessary to audition: Just show up at the appointed time.
For the five Masquers productions each season, auditions are open to everyone. Actors who have not worked at the Masquers are especially welcome. We very seldom precast, but if we do, we will always pre-announce any precast roles.
The special galas and the Envision series are often precast, and roles are generally open to Masquers members, or by invitation only.
Unfortunately, we have no funds available to pay actors for their work. We are a non profit, community theatre, so we must rely on volunteers.
If you are cast, you are expected to commit to the entire run. Schedule conflicts during rehearsal, however, can almost always be worked out with the Director, as long as you let him or her know.
As the time approaches, information will be made available
regarding what will be required for the upcoming auditions.
Typically, it’s something like this: A prepared monologue and/or readings from the script for "straight" shows;
for musicals, prepare a song in your key and bring the music
for our accompanist. If the show involves dance, you will
be shown a simple dance sequence to learn and execute.
A headshot and resume are certainly not necessary, but bring them if you have them. We will take a snapshot of you and have you fill out an audition form.
Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00, with some Sunday matinees and Thursday night benefits.
Auditions are held at the theatre. The address of the theatre is
105 Park Place
Point Richmond, CA 94801
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